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- Liu, Chang, 1986-
(författare)
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Le Fantôme de l’Opéra - Studies on Atoms and Electrons Beneath
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The carbon dioxide reduction reaction is a promising candidate to tackle ecological challenges of our age. This is due to its capability of reducing carbon dioxide emission generated from the combustion of fossil fuels by converting carbon dioxide into valuable hydrocarbons. Oxide-derived metal nanostructures have been found to exhibit unique catalytic characteristics for facilitating the carbon dioxide reduction reaction. In this thesis work, the stability, influence, and effects of subsurface oxygen atoms are investigated by theoretical computations with various levels of theory and models. It is found that subsurface oxygen atoms are stable and that their presence increases the CO adsorption strength and coverage on oxide-derived Cu surface. This is explained by a reduced σ-repulsion and leads to the breaking of scaling relations. Although it does not directly reduce the CO dimerization barrier, the adsorption of H atoms is inhibited thus steering the selectivity. The presence of subsurface oxygen atoms is also concluded from a joint work with experimental and theoretical efforts of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The precursor region of CO desorption from Ru(0001) is studied with the transition potential method. In contrast, for the simulation of the X-ray spectroscopy results on p4g C/Ni(100), which is a surface reconstruction when carbon atoms adsorb on Ni(100), vibrational effects are also needed for understanding the experimental data.
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| 2. |
- Liu, Jingyi, 1989-
(författare)
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Characterization of secreted Giardia intestinalis cysteine proteases
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Giardia intestinalis, the causative agent of the diarrheal disease giardiasis, is a protozoan parasite that colonizes the upper small intestine of mammals, including humans. It can be divided into eight genotypes or assemblages (A through H) and only assemblage A and B are infective to humans. Giardiasis is a multi-factorial disease but few giardial virulence factors have been identified and characterized.In this thesis, we used proteomics to identify the major excretory-secretory products (ESPs) released by Giardia trophozoites of the WB and GS isolates during interaction with intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in vitro (Paper I). To deepen our understanding of the role of ESPs in giardiasis, we focused on three specific secreted Giardia cysteine proteases (CPs; CP14019, CP16160 and CP16779). All the three CPs are capable of opening the apical junction complexes between IECs to degrade chemokines produced in response to Giardia (Paper II). This can partly explain the induction of symptoms and immunosuppression seen during giardiasis. We further studied the cleavage specificity of these CPs using substrate phage display and recombinant protein substrates. The preferred sequences were used to search potential human in vivo targets and a number of candidates were identified, including human immunoglobulins as well as defensins, that were subsequently shown to be efficiently cleaved by the CPs (Paper III). To investigate the involvement of CPs in mucus degradation, we tested the CPs on recombinant MUC2 constructs and full-length MUC2. MUC2 is the major component of the mucus layer in the small intestine. It was shown that CP14019 cleave MUC2 in the N-terminal, suggesting a mechanism that the parasite can use to disrupt/release the mucus gel network and get access to the intestinal epithelium of the host (Paper IV).In summary, this thesis has studied secreted Giardia CPs and their roles in Giardia infections, providing significant insights into the molecular pathogenesis of giardiasis.
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| 3. |
- Liu, Jianguo, 1985-
(författare)
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Iridium Catalysed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Olefins and Dynamic Kinetic Resolution in the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Allylic Alcohols
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The work described in this thesis is focused on exploring the efficacy of iridium-catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation of precursors to chiral alcohols and chiral cyclohexanes. A range of allylic alcohols including γ,γ-dialkyl allylic alcohols and (Z)-allylic alcohols were prepared and evaluated in the asymmetric hydrogenation using iridium catalysts resulting in chiral alcohols in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity. This methodology was applied in the formal synthesis of Aliskiren, an efficient renin inhibitor drug, using the asymmetric hydrogenation of an allylic alcohol as a key-step. Another project concerned the dynamic kinetic resolution of racemic secondary allylic alcohols using Ir-N,P catalysts under hydrogenation conditions. A range of secondary allylic alcohols and protected alcohols were evaluated in the asymmetric hydrogenation via dynamic kinetic resolution using Ir-N,P catalysts. The corresponding chiral saturated alcohols were formed in good yield with excellent diastereoselectivites (up to 95/5) and enantioselectivities (>99% ee). The last part of this thesis is directed towards the development of highly regio- and enantioselective asymmetric hydrogenation of 1,4-cyclohexadienes and its application in the preparation of useful chiral cyclohexenone intermediates. Non-functionalised, functionalised and heterocycle-containing cyclohexadienes were evaluated. Good yield of regioselectively mono-hydrogenated silyl protected enol ethers were obtained in most cases with excellent enantioselectivity.
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| 4. |
- Liu, Wei, 1963-
(författare)
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Electro-thermal simulations and measurements of silicon carbide power transistors
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The temperature dependent electrical characteristics of silicon carbide power transistors – 4H-SiC metal semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) and 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) have been investigated through simulation and experimental approaches. Junction temperatures and temperature distributions in devices under large power densities have been estimated. The DC and RF performance of 4H-SiC RF Power MESFETs have been studied through two-dimensional electro-thermal simulations using commercial software MEDICI and ISE. The simulated characteristics of the transistors were compared with the measurement results. Performance degradation of transistors under self-heating and high operating temperatures have been analyzed in terms of gate and drain characteristics, power density, high frequency current gain and power gain. 3D thermal simulations have been performed for single and multi-finger MESFETs and the simulated junction temperatures and temperature profiles were compared with the results from electro-thermal simulations. The reduction in drain current caused by self-heating was found to be more prominent for transistors with more fingers and it imposes a limitation on both the output power and the power density (in W/mm) of multi-fingered large area devices. Thermal issues for design of high power multi-fingered SiC MESFETs were also investigated. A couple of useful ways to reduce the self-heating effects were discussed. Trap-induced performance instabilities of the devices were analyzed by carrying out DC, transient, and pulse measurements at room and elevated temperatures. Electrical characteristics of 4H-SiC BJTs have been measured. A reduction in current gain at elevated temperatures was observed. Based on the collector current-voltage diagram measured at three different ambient temperatures the junction temperature was extracted using the assumption that the current gain only depends on the temperature. Temperature measurements have been carried out for SiC BJTs. Thermal images of a device under operation were recorded using an infrared camera. 3D thermal simulations were conducted using FEMLAB. Both the simulations and the measurement showed a significant temperature increase in the vicinity of the device when operated at high power densities, thus causing the decrease of the DC current gain. The junction temperatures obtained from the thermal imaging, simulation and extraction agree well.
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